Rock Hudson was one of the biggest stars of Hollywood’s Golden Age, and viewers loved him especially for his role in the kutl movie “The Giant”. The actor had the image of a true lover and was famous, among others, for from passionate kissing scenes. The star died on October 2, 1985 – a month before his 60th birthday. The public was shocked because it turned out that he was suffering from AIDS and had been hiding his true sexual orientation for years. The year before his death, the actor had guest-starred in “Dynasty” and was terrified of kissing Linda Evans on set.
He avoided a kiss on the set of “Dynasty”. “He was worried about me”
In 1984, awareness of how HIV was spread and how it worked was very low. So the actor was afraid that by kissing Linda Evans, he could infect her with a deadly disease. During the filming of the kissing scene, he refused to open his mouth and used mouthwash several times to somehow disinfect himself.
Evans spoke about that day for the documentary All That Heaven Allows, which just premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival. She recalls that there was a strange atmosphere during the shoot: “When we shot Kiss, the scene didn’t come out the way the director wanted. Nobody knew what to do. I knew Rock could play it. The director had us repeat the take over and over again, and he stubbornly he was doing the same thing all the time.” With tears in her eyes, she added:
It makes me cry because I know he protected me that way. I was very confused then. When I think about it, one of the things that breaks me down the most is that he was doing his best because nobody knew anything about it at the time. It breaks my heart even years later.
The actor’s friend, George Nader, wrote in his diary: “Rock, on returning from the set the day they filmed Kiss, told me, ‘It was the worst day of my life. I used every kind of mouthwash known to man. Horrible day. I kept it closed. mouth” -“Daily Mail”.
Linda Evans admits that when the public found out about Hudson’s diagnosis, people didn’t want to work with her anymore because they were afraid that she too had AIDS. Friends did not even want to come to dinner, because they were so afraid that they might get infected.
Rock Hudson was diagnosed shortly before his death. On the recommendation of his doctor, he went to Paris to participate in clinical trials of a new drug. Unfortunately, his condition deteriorated, and further hospitals refused further treatment. The actor spent the last days of his life at his home in Beverly Hills, but to get there, he had to spend 250,000. dollars to rent a plane because no airline would take him on board. The documentary “” will be available on HBO Max from June 28.
The first information about the new disease was published on June 5, 1981 in the “Weekly Report on Morbidity and Mortality” of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Just 13 days later, the HIV epidemic was officially announced – doctors from New York and California “observed an unnaturally large number of cases of rare, severe diseases in previously healthy, young people, most often of homosexual orientation. Therapies were ineffective, the patients died” – writes Eliza Dolecka. It is assumed that the HIV virus came to the United States from Haiti, and was there already in 1967, having its source in Africa – specifically in today’s Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Since then, nearly 40 million people worldwide have died from HIV and AIDS. According to NIH data, over 25.5 thousand infections have been detected in Poland since 1985 – these are the data obtained at the end of 2019. After years of research, doctors have managed to lead to the fact that AIDS is rather a chronic disease and thanks to drugs and antiretroviral therapy (ARV) it is possible to lead a relatively long and successful life. There are also reports of the first patients who managed to overcome HIV. In Poland, patients have many opportunities for free examinations and free treatment. Still, a huge problem is the stigmatization of patients.
Source: Gazeta
Bruce is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment . He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the industry.
